High temperature rapid processing of photographic materials by automatic developing machines is well known. Almost 20 years have passed since the introduction of 90 second rapid processing by a dry-to-dry manner of photographic materials for X-ray image diagnosis. Demand for the increased simplification and the rapidity of the processing has become strong recently since electronic equipment and processing equipment have become to be used in combination. In Japanese Patent Application No. 27340/87, a simple, rapid technique of processing photographic materials for semiconductor lasers that uses a combined-type highly active developing solution and fixing solution free from glutaraldehyde is disclosed. However, this technique is unsatisfactory for conventional photographic materials for X-ray image diagnosis because it is difficult to adjust the rate of development and highly developed silver covering power to desirable levels when drying characteristics are set at a level that enables rapid processing. In Japanese Patent Application (OPI) Nos. 111935/83, 111936/83, 111937/83 and 113927/83, (the term "OPI" as used herein means a "published unexamined Japanese patent application"), tabular grain emulsion techniques are disclosed, and the highly developed silver covering power and the high photosensitivity of the emulsions are described. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,304 and Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 111933/83, techniques are disclosed that include tabular grains that have been subjected to preliminary hardening and that provide a high rate of development and highly developed silver covering power and wherein the degree of swelling is 200% or less. However, these disclosed techniques are unsatisfactory because they do not allow rapid development within 45 seconds by a dry-to-dry manner.